TaskTo analyze the similarities and differences among a protagonist’s view of himself/herself versus how other characters view the protagonist

Objectives To develop criteria for analyzing characterTo assess comprehension of character development across a textTo select appropriate academic vocabulary for literary analysisTo support analysis with textual evidence

Common Core StandardsR1, 3, 6, 11/ W1-4, 9-11/ SL 1, 4, 6/ L1-3

InstructionsOftentimes, the disparity in perception between how a protagonist of a story sees himself/herself and how other characters view the protagonist causes the protagonist to make a mistake—sometimes a very tragic mistake. In “Magic Mirror,” students are to consider how the protagonist views himself/herself as compared to how other characters view him/her. By looking at the protagonist through this lens, students can begin to see the imperfections of the protagonist that bring about conflict in the story.

The lead activity, “Magic MIrror,” asks students to brainstorm adjectives to describe how the protagonist sees himself/herself. It also asks students to brainstorm adjectives to describe how other characters view the protagonist. Then, students can complete any or all of the follow-up activities to analyze the information from the “Magic Mirror” Activity including the “Magic Mirror” Chart, “Magic Mirror” Venn diagram, or the “Magic Mirror” Writing Task. All of these activities lend themselves to sharing/ discussing either in small groups or as a whole class, so consider ways for students to interact throughout these activities.

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This listing is for a sample lesson sequence from The Big Book of Characterization (sold separately). The full book contains over 100 pages of lessons centered around the literary element characterization but also has students analyzing a bunch of different literary elements and techniques while targeting reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These are great activities to make Characterization the entire focus of your ELA curriculum! So, if you like what you see here, check out the listing for the ENTIRE BOOK!

"Mirror Magic"

TaskTo analyze the similarities and differences among a protagonist’s view of himself/herself versus how other characters view the protagonist

Objectives To develop criteria for analyzing characterTo assess comprehension of character development across a textTo select appropriate academic vocabulary for literary analysisTo support analysis with textual evidence

Common Core StandardsR1, 3, 6, 11/ W1-4, 9-11/ SL 1, 4, 6/ L1-3

InstructionsOftentimes, the disparity in perception between how a protagonist of a story sees himself/herself and how other characters view the protagonist causes the protagonist to make a mistake—sometimes a very tragic mistake. In “Mirror Magic,” students are to consider how the protagonist views himself/herself as compared to how other characters view him/her. By looking at the protagonist through this lens, students can begin to see the imperfections of the protagonist that bring about conflict in the story.

The lead activity, “Mirror Magic,” asks students to brainstorm adjectives to describe how the protagonist sees himself/herself. It also asks students to brainstorm adjectives to describe how other characters view the protagonist. Then, students can complete any or all of the follow-up activities to analyze the information from the “Mirror Magic” Activity including the “Mirror Magic” Chart, “Mirror Magic” Venn diagram, or the “Mirror Magic” Writing Task. All of these activities lend themselves to sharing/ discussing either in small groups or as a whole class, so consider ways for students to interact throughout these activities.